Nation of immigrants.

On January 14, French Minister of Immigration and National Identity, Eric Besson, publicly debated vice-president of the Front National, Marine Le Pen. He had this to say about French identity:

"France is not a people, or a language, or a territory, or a religion, it is a conglomerate of peoples who want to live together. There is no ethnic Frenchman. There is only an ethnically mixed France."

This is incredible, though what force this word has in these times I cannot say.

Unfortunately, Ms. Le Pen said nothing to contradict this ludicrous assertion, one that is the complete opposite of Charles De Gaulle’s concept of French identity:

We are, after all, a European people of the white race, of Greek and Latin culture and of the Christian religion.

Evidently this actually horrified Ms. Le Pen, the putative leader of a party thought by some and in other times to be a party reflecting nationalist interests. Her father, the founder of the party, has stirred suspicion that he has developed pro-Islamic leanings and, if so, his daughter seems to have gone down the same road. Evidently a Frenchman is just someone who enjoys living in France with whomever happens to show up in the neighborhood(s), and a French nationalist is someone who thinks only that the rate of immigration should be reduced.

Obviously, Gen. De Gaulle’s view is the correct one and the Minister’s formulation of national identity is precisely the one that would be chosen if the explicit objective of the government were to destroy France as a white, Western nation. The supposed firebrand leader of the party of French nativism recoils from attacking this ghastly concept and, judging from the comments in newspaper reports of the debate, Frenchmen seem oblivious to extinction by admixture and liked Le Pen merely for making debating points on extraneous matters.

"Confrontation: Besson and Marine Le Pen." By Tiberge, GalliaWatch, 1/21/10.